Nothing beats being a grandparent. It’s a source of great fun and joy.
In 1970, Marian McQuade began a campaign to establish a day to honor grandparents. In 1978, Pres. Jimmy Carter signed a federal proclamation, declaring the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparents Day. It’s been celebrated since then.
The U.S. Census Bureau offers this information about American grandparents:
7.2 million
The number of grandparents whose grandchildren under 18 years old were living with them in 2013.
Grandparents as caregivers
2.7 million
The number of grandparents responsible for the basic needs of one or more grandchildren under age 18 living with them in 2013. Of these caregivers, 1.7 million were grandmothers and 1 million were grandfathers.
569,251
The number of grandparents responsible for grandchildren under age 18 and whose income was below the poverty level in the past 12 months, compared with the 2.1 million grandparent caregivers whose income was at or above the poverty level.
$48,016
Median income for families with grandparent householders responsible for grandchildren under age 18. Among these families, where a parent of the grandchildren was not present, the median income was $35,685.
1.9 million
The number of married – including separated – grandparents responsible for caring for their grandchildren.
1.6 million
The number of grandparents in the labor force responsible for their own grandchildren under age 18. Among them, 354,464 were 60 years or older.
666,686
The number of grandparents who had a disability and were responsible for their grandchildren.
1.8 million
The number of grandparents responsible for their grandchildren who were living in owner-occupied housing, compared with 834,183 that were living in renter-occupied housing.
486,584
The number of foreign-born grandparents responsible for their own grandchildren under age 18. The number of native-born grandparent caregivers is 2.2 million.
2 million
The number of grandparents responsible for their grandchildren who spoke only English. Another 251,992 spoke another language, but spoke English “very well”; 383,888 spoke another language and spoke English less than “very well.”
Grandchildren
5.7 million
The number of children under age 18 living with a grandparent householder in 2013. Nearly half, 47 percent or 2.7 million, were under age 6.
3.1 million
The number of children in 2014 living with or without one or both parents, and with both grandmother and grandfather.
